A long-standing tradition at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf is being continued under the new management of Ulrike Groos. From 11 October to 23 November the Kunsthalle will present works by scholarship holders of the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Scholarship from the years 1999 to 2002:

The scholarships of 30,000 Euros each are awarded to four artists every two years. The scholarship originates from Karl Schmidt-Rottluff's private funds, which the artist transferred to the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Förderungsstiftung (Support Foundation) in 1975, shortly before his death. The purpose of the foundation was worded in the foundation act: Here an artist had acted on behalf of artists, and Schmidt-Rottluff's much-quoted sentence, "that the success of my creative work may continue and be integrated into the stream of artistic creation", became the foundation's leitmotif.

The jury's utmost concern is the unprejudiced perception of outstanding, stringent individual achievement. The Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Scholarship has, therefore, been characterised from the beginning by an extremely high level of plurality. This twelfth exhibition, too, presents a variety of positions, which are undoubtedly a reflection of the current situation. The spectrum ranges from painting to installations, to an extremely varied treatment of the new media, and to a sculptural theatrical performance for four speakers with texts by Claude Simon, which will be performed for the first time on the opening evening.

Former Karl Schmidt-Rottluff scholarship holders regularly attend the exhibitions as guests, thus expressing their ongoing solidarity with the foundation's ideas. This time the guests are: